


Logical Imbalance

by limyth (unknownymous)



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-10
Updated: 2014-10-10
Packaged: 2018-02-20 14:40:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2432480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknownymous/pseuds/limyth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inaho enters the classroom and the only one there is Slaine, covered in blood and scars. He is not prepared for the utter dread that turns his own blood cold, nor for the revelation that paints his chest when relief washes over him.</p><p>Idea and Summary by blue_spectrum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Logical Imbalance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Aldnoah.Zero does not belong to me.

It took a moment for Inaho to understand what he'd just walked in on the moment he slammed the classroom door shut. The only other occupant of the room gasped and turned at the sudden noise. Inaho looked up just in time to see Slaine's startled expression before he noticed something else and he suddenly found his breath catching in his throat.

Slaine's chest was bare, and there was blood and scars and bruises everywhere. Crimson running down from ugly wounds ranging from two inches to as long as five. Discolored black and blue in the few places blood didn't run down from. It littered his arms, his neck, his torso, his cheek. If Slaine turned around, Inaho was sure to find longer, uglier gashes.

"...Orange?"  
  
Inaho's mind went blank. His vision tunneled, and he stumbled forward, knocking down a chair. He took another step, not even feeling the pain from stubbing his toe. Slaine was on him in an instant, hands on his shoulders. Hands covered in blood. Now that they were closer, Inaho finally noticed the difference in the texture, the difference in smell. Instead of the slimy feeling of blood coating his shoulders, he felt the others' hand stick to to the fabric like tape on solid surface. Instead of the strong, sickening scent of blood, was the equally strong scent of paint and pastel. The blood, the scars and the bruises... _they weren't real_.

Inaho let out the air he didn't realize he was holding and _breathed_.

 _Not real. They're not real. They're not_ , he repeated the words like a mantra inside his head. On the outside, his face was painfully blank. On the inside, his mind was running a mile a minute.

"Orange! _Orange_ , hey- Inaho!" Slaine shouted, and the effect was like a slap to Inaho's face. The world came back into focus, and he blinked once, twice, and finally looked up to meet worried turquoise eyes.

 _He's not hurt, he's not in pain,_ _**he's safe** _ , Inaho's brain supplied as he watched Slaine suck in a shaky breath and exhale. The blond closed his eyes and squeezed his hands where he was cupping Inaho's face. All before he stepped back and sat heavily on the nearest available seat. Inaho wondered when the hands had gone from his shoulders to his face. His cheeks were still tingling, but they were slowly turning cold. He already missed the reassuring warmth.

"Orange", Slaine said and ran a hand down his face. The pale eyes were weary. _Worried_ , when Inaho should have been the one feeling those things. "What just happened? You scared me."

 _You scared me more_ , Inaho closed his eyes and calibrated his brain to return back to the here and now.

 _This is our high school, and_ _**he's safe** _ _. This is third period under our teacher Mizusaki with Fine Arts. The activity for today is for our class project. I came back to the classroom to borrow a camera where Slaine isn't my classmate but where_ _**he is safe** _ _..._

Slowly, the stiffness left him and along with it the uncomfortable feeling of something he didn't understand. When he opened his eyes again, he was as calm and collected as he'd always been. As he _should_ have been in that moment.

Inaho only realized then that given the situation, he didn't even have the presence of mind to call an ambulance.

 _But he's safe_ , he repeated again.

"...Better?" Slaine asked, posture rigid on the chair. The blonds hands were crossed, his shoulders were hunched and his eyes looking at anything and everything but him. Inaho knew why he was acting that way. _He_ was the reason for the strange behavior even, but he dismissed the thought for a later time.

"Why are you here? It's not even your free period." Slaine grimaced and made himself look smaller.

"T-the princess she...Um...And Areash-chan, t-they..."

Inaho paused to regard the place, noticing for the first time that most of the tables and chairs were clustered in the corners, leaving an open space in the middle of the room. Near one corner, a single chair and table stood in front of a large canvass. He put two and two together.

"So Seylum and Rayet forced you to look like that. They asked you to pose for them." Slaine nodded once, not bothering to look up from his lap.

“They went out to get some paint from the storage room. They should be back soon.” Inaho nodded and took a seat next to Slaine. He didn't miss the way the older boy shifted away a little too nervously for his liking. He could tell that it was more than just his presence making the blond feel uncomfortable. It was also because the older teen had always been the conservative type as far as Inaho knew. Always keeping to himself and barely smiling unless he was talking to Seylum. He was always different when she was around and when she wasn't. Almost like two completely different people. For him to go out of his way to entertain an idea he wasn't even comfortable with only told of how much Seylum meant to him.

Inaho sighed, stood up and unbutton his vest. He tossed it over Slaine’s back before he had the chance to refuse, but the blond still tried to anyway.

“Y-it's okay, this isn't necessary.”

“It's fine.”

“But-”

“It's _fine,_ ” Inaho said with finality and returned to his seat. “You don't have to do this if you really don't want to, Bat. Seylum isn't going to hate you for saying no.”

The silence that stretch after his words almost felt suffocating. The tension in the air almost tangible. But then Slaine chuckled weakly, and Inaho turned to him, not comprehending.

With slow, almost sluggish movements, the blond drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arm around them. He tucked his head on the crook and turned his head tofinallylook at Inaho. The smile the older boy sent his way was the tiniest Inaho had seen as far as he could remember. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

The smile was small...so small and sad and defeated. The smudges of red and the patches of black and blues made Slaine look more like a victim ready to accept his fate without even trying to fight. Inaho instantly wanted to wipe it away from the other's face and his own memory. He didn't want to see it ever again.

“...You really think I did it for that reason?” Slaine near whispered, then shook his head.

“It's been two weeks since I last caught a glimpse of you. Two weeks since I had a _reason_ to catch a glimpse of you. I was hoping to maybe catch you on your way out, but I guess this is fine too.”

Inaho's mind whirred at Slaine's words, remembering days, weeks, and months that passed. He was reminded again of why Slaine was always so nervous around him. Why things between them were the way they were now.

Slaine had confessed to him nearly a year ago around the end of his freshman year. Inaho had kindly turned him down, and Slaine had nodded, accepting the rejection with a sad look. They left each other that day with Inaho saying they could still be friends and Slaine agreeing.

They never did become friends.

It was only after the other had confessed that Inaho even started to notice Slaine. Slaine who was a year older than him, Slaine who was nothing more than a friend of a friend.

 _So why..._ Inaho thought, trying to think back to a 'when' where all of it had started. To a when where noticing slowly became seeing and seeing slowly became looking. To a when where looking became seeking and seeking became _feeling_. And to a when where feeling, however vague the feeling was, became strong enough to make his mind go blank at the mere sight of Slaine injured.

He didn't understand what it was that he felt. Only that he felt something, and that he didn't want to push the feeling away.

“When...no, how? How did you end up liking me? We didn’t know each other even after Seylum introduced us. You hated me.”Inaho asked, needing to know. Slaine looked away and dropped his shoulders.

“You’re right. I didn’t like you. Asseylum was the only person I was close to and you took her from me.” Slaine closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. He exhaled slowly, deliberately, then turned to look Inaho in the eye. “I asked her why she liked hanging around you so much, you know. She said it was because you were different, and that you were you. I didn’t understand what she meant, so I observed you every chance I got. She was right. That’s how it happened. That’s how I fell in love.”

“Slaine...” Inaho said, wanting so much to reach out and touch his hand. Slaine shook his head.

“It’s okay. I’m not expecting you to change your mind about it. You asked, so I told you. It’s okay.” Slaine reassured him. He stood up with a smile and gestured at Inaho’s vest. “Thanks for this. I’ll return it to you tomorrow. I’ll go tell them I’ve change my mind so...” Slaine turned to walk away.

“See you, Orange.” Inaho watched him walking one step at a time towards the door, and Inaho thought.

How long was it going to take? How long was it going to take for his brain to decide on what he wanted to do, to _say_ to this person who had loved him even then? The few steps it would take to reach the door? A few days? Months? He honestly didn't know the answer, but it looked to Inaho like his lips knew. His body did too. And maybe, just maybe, his heart.

Because they all moved before he even realized what he was doing.

“Did you know?” Inaho said, standing up. “I saved a woman once after she had an attack in the middle of the street.” Slaine paused and looked at him questioningly. “Wheezing, coughing, pale complexion, blue lips and fingernails, and rapid breathing. It was an Asthma attack, so I asked someone for an inhaler and called for an ambulance.” Inaho said and walked towards the other. “On a different occasion a few years back, Calm was bitten by a poisonous snake. That time, I was level-headed enough to apply first aid and keep everyone from panicking.” He closed the gap between them, and grabbed Slaine’s arms. “There's been a few situations similar the past couple of years and every time I was calm enough to assess the situation and do what needed to be done to solve it.” Inaho exhaled and tightened his grip. “Slaine...when I entered this room and saw you, _I couldn’t even think_ . I saw you covered in scars and blood and bruises and all I wanted was to get to you and make sure you were real and _breathing_.” He locked their gazes together, refusing to let Slaine look away. He pressed the blond to the door when the other tried to struggle and pressed his palms to the other's cheeks when he still tried to look away. His mouth was now spewing words he'd never intended to say, and his body moved without his consent. It felt weird but right, and now his brain was finally starting to catch up.

He'd already decided he wasn't going down without a fight.

“I can’t tell you that I like you back because right now, I don’t really understand what I feel.” Inaho said, face neutral even when Slaine's lips tremble and a sob filled the air. His face remained neutral even when he rubbed his hands reassuringly to wipe the tears away. “What I can tell you is that you’ve become important enough for me to want to try this, so...” He smiled when Slain leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together.

“Go out with me, _Bat-senpai_.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank blue_spectrum for this. For letting me write about the idea and for the summary and the fix on the ending, too! Can't forget the fixes in general. Thanks!
> 
> PS: I'm still calling you my beta-reader(without your consent.) Because I am evil that way .


End file.
